Huntress [Derek Hale] [Teen Wolf]

Chapter 29

"I can leave the mountain ash whenever I please; you'd be stuck. But that isn't what the line is for. It's for any uninvited guests. The arrow was to see if I could provoke you, see how easily you'd snap. Most wild animals, when cornered, will fight if they know they cannot run. Nothing said I wasn't here to kill you, but you know that, even if Scott didn't tell you anything. You knew I wouldn't kill you unless my life was threatened." I give the man a bored look as he continues to access me. "I do that the power here. I don't need special powers. I've learned how to control a situation and keep it under control. You're right, my mate would kill you before I had the chance if you threatened me, but you don't know how fast I am."

Deucalion's hand twitched, his feet shifted, and I was on top of him with a knife in my left hand pressing against his throat, and a pistol in my right hand pressed against his chest pointed at his heart. I kept my breathing even and my glare fixed on him as he began to laugh.

"You now have my complete respect."

I roll the knife around my fingers, place it back in its holder, and carefully stand with my pistol pointed at him as he gets to his feet. Only when he is on his feet, and I am standing in front of the guys, feeling them release the tension in their bodies, do I place my pistol back in its holster.

"So, where did you dig this new Huntress from, Scott? She's impressive. A good addition to your pack of misfits. I'll say the young Hale is lucky to have a woman who can stand at his side as an equal." I hate the smile that spreads on Deucalion's face.

"The Argents took me in when I was nine after werewolves killed my family. I've come seeking help from Scott and his pack to find the answers they will not give me and finally find peace in doing to the wolves what they did to my family." Can you say get revenge without saying revenge?

"I see. You believe I'll know who did it because I've been an Alpha for a while. When did this accident happen?"

"Ten years ago. I was told that at the time, you worked with Talia Hale and the other Alphas to find rouge wolves that were randomly killing humans."

Deucalion's face dropped at the mention of how long ago the accident happened. It confirmed that Peter didn't lie to me and that Deucalion did know something.

"Those killings were no accidents." His voice grave.

My body wants to stumble. To fall back into something and scream. I'm fighting to keep my breathing even as I take in those few words. My knees shake, ready to give as Derek's hand takes mine; I glance at him. He might not feel my pain as he could if we were fully mated, but he could feel it just by knowing me.

"This conversation might be best sitting down. If you'd like to continue this another time, I'll stay in town until you're ready." Deucalion's words blow past me.

"No." I croak out. "No. I need to know now." I'm probably cutting off Derek's circulation to his hand with how tightly I hold it. I've never wanted werewolves to be able to take emotional pain as they do physically so badly until now.

Deucalion seems to hesitate. Nodding, he begins, "Around eleven years ago, betas from random packs started to disappear. There would be no trace of them wherever they had last been seen and no way to track them. It was like they disintegrated. To most of the Alphas from bigger packs like mine and Talia's, we hadn't had a problem, only heard whispers about it. Until we all had betas go missing. It sent us into a panic.

"The attacks began six months after the betas vanished. All across the country, families like yours were being slaughtered. Some in their homes, and some while they were in a grocery store. The location never seemed to matter; if there were witnesses, they would be slaughtered as well. Those were the ones we had a more challenging time connecting with initially.

"We soon found the pattern in the attacks, though it still didn't make sense. Each family was left with one surviving member, all children, none harmed. Finding what connected the families together, the reason for leaving these children alive, was puzzling. Nothing seemed to link the families." He paused, and I was leaning against Derek to keep myself standing. Other kids like me lost their families. I wasn't left alive by chance.

"Did you ever figure it out?" Stiles questions.

"No. Using all of the resources we had, we never found anything that connected them. The children didn't look alike; they were of different ages and genders. But it was obvious to us that these were no accidents." Deucalion seemed angry as he began to pace. "They always happened on the full moon. But it wasn't like the disappeared betas were young, newly changed ones; they were all older and could control themselves entirely on the full moon.

"All Alphas began sending watch teams out on the night of the full moon, running for hours to see if we could catch that attacks happening. By the time we were able to intercept one, it was too late, and we weren't able to get much information before the betas vanished again. We planned to do the same when the next moon rolled around, but there was never another attack. Many of us were reaching out across the world to make sure this wasn't happening in other countries, but the attacks stopped. We were on edge for a year, waiting to see if they would start again. But they never did, and we eventually gave up hope on discovering what happened."

"What was discovered when the betas were able to intercept the rouge ones?" Scott spoke.

"That the rouge betas were being controlled. We didn't know by what, but knew it wasn't another Alpha. They didn't act like normal werewolves following orders, almost robotic. What tipped us off the most was that they went up in smoke when they vanished into thin air. Whatever was controlling them used some kind of magic."

"Do you still have the information that was compiled?" Stiles was in FBI mode.

"No. But I'm sure there are copies of it in Hale's vault. Talia kept everything in case the attacks ever started happening again." Deucalion looked at me, his expression somber. "We wanted so badly to stop them. I apologize for not being able to save your family. But maybe not all bad came from the situation."

"In a way, you did stop them if the betas intercepting the rouge ones had anything to do with it. My family was the last to be killed if what I was told is true." I weakly smile at him. "No, not all bad came from it." I glance at Derek, his eyes already on me. He doesn't smile, but I see it in his eyes as they turn a slightly darker green.

"I hope you'll find happiness from now on. You have a strong wolf standing at your side and an even stronger pack caring for you. Wherever this takes you, you will not be alone." Deucalion smiles, and I can see he means what he's said. He turns to leave.

"I respect you as well."